Dental tool.



J. P. MERTES.

DENTAL TOOL.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV.19, 1913.

1,1 1 1,603, Patented Sept. 22, 1914.

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Wm 3k THE NORRIS PETERS C0. PHOTO-LITHQ, WASHINGTON. D. C

UNI1ED STATESYPAEENToFFIoE.

Josnrn r. MERTES, or nos-anenins, CALIFORNIA? ,DENTAL reon To all whom/it mag concern: i I I Be it known that I, JOSEPH P. Mnn'rns, -a

citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of Cali-fornia, have inpented certain new and useful Improvements in: Dental Tools; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, suchyas will enable others skilled in tlieart to Which it appertains to make and usethe same.

ments in dental tools and relatesmore par ticularly to a tool having interchangeable contact elements for engagement with" a tooth, to permit of the tool being used either as a bridge remover and tooth extractor or as-a crown slitter.

One of the objects of, the invention is to provide an instrument in the form of a pair of forceps, the jaws of which are provided with contact elements or heads including disk portions which arepreferably covered with removable pads, the opposed faces of the disks being concave.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dental tool of this naturehaving one jaw provided with aknife which may be fixed at different angles thereto, and the :other jaw being'provided witha head, the

knife being for thepurpose of slitting a crown to facilitate its removal from a'tooth,

or root of a tooth, and the head cooperating with the knife to permit the'latter being" forced against a crown.

The invention also aims to generally 1mprove instruments of this nature to render them more useful, practical and commer= cially desirable.

With these and other objects in viewas will become more apparent as the"description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, comb nation and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my 1nvention reference is to be hadto the following description and accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a topuplanview of my improved dental tool, Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation partly; in section, showing a pad covered .head secured to each of the jaws, Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation partly in section, showing the 1 tool when equipped'with a knife for use as a crown Specification of Letters Patent. Pate nted se pt; 22,1914: Application filed. November 19,1913. s i 1No-.so1,a31. f t i slitter, and Fig 4 is an edge. elevation of the knife or cutter. j 'Referringin detail. to the drawings by .numerals,5 designatesas an entirety a pair of forceps. of a common construction, and

consisting of a pair of crossed leverspivotally connected to each other, as indicated by the numeral 6 and forming the handles 7 and jaws 8. ,These jaws are curved, as shown ln the drawlngs, and have their exu tremities enlarged, as indicated by the nu This invention comprehends improve,

andextracting loose teeth, each of the jaws is provided with a contact elementor head which comprises a shank 11 and a disk 12,

the shank being received within one of the openings 10. The disks have their opposed faces concaved, as indicated by the numeral 13 and s'ald faces are preferablycovered by .a pad of. rubber or other suitable material,

designated by the numeral 14. These pads act ascushions and are secured in their positionzby having their edges turned so as to engage the outer sides of the disks. The concave faces of the disks permit of their obtaining a good grip upon a tooth or crown, andthe rubber pads 14 prevent the disks slipping, and also prevent the member,

which is belng operated upon, being scratchedor marred in any way. I have found from experience that this tool is adniirably adapted for removing bridges as well as loose teeth and gold crowns. When the pads 14 become worn or damaged, they may be, easily removed and replaced by others.

' i To makethe tool useful as a crown slitter, 1 provide one of the jaws 8 with a knife 15, said knife having a shank 16 which is received within one of the openings 10. This knife is somewhat wedge shape and has a concave cutting edge 17 which is pointed at each extremity. The knife may be turned at different angles to the jaws so as to permit of its properly engaging crowns upon different teeth. This rotational movement is permitted by having the'knife secured in position by the shank 16 which is-held in position by frictional engagement only. hen the tool isused as a crown slitter, the head, which operates with the knife, will prevent the device from slipping.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that I have provided a very simple, practical and useful dental tool having interchangeable elements which perinit of the tool being used as a tooth ex:- tractor, crown and bridge remover or asa crown slitter.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it

will 'be understood that minor changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may bemade without departing from the scope and spirit of theinventlon as claimed. 7

'Having thus described 'my invention, I.

device is in use.

head being concave, and ayieldable cushion element adapted to be'secured to the concave head to form a tooth holding member. 1 2.1111 a device of the character described,

a-pair of pivoted handles, segmental extens ons formed on the handles, enlargements formed at the free ends of the segmental extenslons, said enlargements belng provided with alining apertures, a stem adapted to be lnserted "in, one of the apertures, .a head formedintegral with the stem, and a cushion member removably secured to the head and adapted to form a jaw to hold the article which is being operated upon-when the in testimony whereof I afiix signature:

in presence of two witnesses.

J OS EPH 1?."MERTES. Witnesses: j i .1 JOHN I W. SATTERWHITE, R. :KAUFMAN.

Copies of this patent mas be obtained for a Washington, D. 0

five cents each, by addressing the commissioner of Patents, 

